The Rising Star
by meteoradreams
Summary: Here's a story featuring Pan, another Pan story I need to finish, lol. A chronological prequel to I Never, it's written more in line with traditional Dragonball.
1. Acclimation

**The Rising Star**

It was a long time since he had seen this place, Gohan realized. The last time was a family affair. It was the same this time around, although this time the trainee was the trainer, and the father was bringing his daughter in for the training.

That was about it for the similarities. There was no looming pall of impending destruction, like when Cell was around, but the period was calm. The foe this time was imaginary, but the goal remained the same. A new super saiyan would hopefully be born within a day in Earth time. That's where the Room of Space and Time came in.

"It's so empty." Pan commented upon entering.

"That it is," Gohan replied. "But it's home."

"For a year, papa? How could you stand it?" Pan asked.

"Cell did that to you, hon. You knew you had to put more in than he did, or else all was going to be lost."

"No television?" Pan quipped upon gazing into the living quarters.

"Nothing of the sort. All you focus on here is training. That is what you wanted, wasn't it?"

"Yeah dad, but..."

"You can watch TV tomorrow." Gohan replied with a laugh.

"That's not funny!" Pan squirmed.

There were many similarities, Gohan realized, between him and his daughter the first time they both entered. Both really wanted to train, but both wanted their cake and to eat it too. For Gohan, he wanted to hit super saiyan right away. But he had to work a while to get there. It came though. And he knew that Pan had the attitude to hit super saiyan, if she'd just put her mind to it. They were similar in age when they both entered, Pan actually was coming in at a year older

than he did. Pan had the desire to become super saiyan. It was just a question on whether or not a female could do it. Even if she couldn't, she would continue to break barriers.

It was amazing, Gohan thought, the power she held already. Even WITHOUT achieving super saiyan, which told volumes about how powerful she was to begin with. Comparing at the same age, she was pound for pound much stronger than him, and miles ahead of her grandfather, Goku. She wanted to continue and maintain such ability, but she lacked direction. Gohan planned to provide it to her. Direction was something he had lost along the way as well, but he was confident he could quickly pick it back up, like finding a map. He was certain though along the way, in a day, or in a year, however you wanted to put it, that Pan would emerge a changed and more mature woman, and maybe the old schoolteacher would pick something up himself.

"Step out there. Get used to the scenery." Gohan offered. He did so himself and felt the immense tug pulling him to the ground. _Aaaaah, great memories. _He thought, transitioning into the platform of oblivion seamlessly.

The same couldn't be said for Pan however. Oblivious to the change in gravity, all it took was one step for her to be slammed down to the ground. "Oh my god!" she screamed.

"Watch that first step there. It's a doozy." Gohan explained post facto.

"Thanks, dad." Pan quipped. She clambered to her knees, then slowly strained her body erect and upright. "What is this place, papa?"

"It's a place that wants to see what you're made of. If you welcome the challenge, it'll challenge and sculpt you to the utmost. If you can't handle it, you will be eaten up." Gohan said as he felt the hot breeze coming in.

"It's...scary..."

"It's home, dear. Now... KA...ME..."

"Papa?"

"...HA...ME..."

"PAPA?"

--

Vegeta could no longer feel their power levels. That meant they must have entered. Vegeta had an interest in the developments going on, particularly with Pan. He saw a lot of promise in Pan. She was tenacious, a true saiyan. It was too bad, however, for he wanted to train her in the Room of Space and Time himself. But now at least, it would be better if she went in with Gohan. Not that Gohan was that great of a trainer, however. Yes, he'd lead her in the right direction, but there was only so much a part-time saiyan could impart upon an up and comer. This day would tell Vegeta what Pan was truly made of. If she was going to ascend to her utmost, she would have to work harder than even Gohan would push her. Although Pan was only 12, and would be 13 upon coming out, her moment was now.


	2. Digging Deep

It was mere weeks, Pan realized. And she wasn't sure what she had gotten herself into. While home base was full of its own creature comforts, anywhere beyond was a pure blazing, or cold (depending on it's mood) Hell. For the first time, she began to have doubts about herself. She even began to wonder if her father was feeling opposite sensations from her, as he described from time to time. Was she really cut out for this? She didn't have time to think about it much as her father came at her with a fist that could make the entire world shake. And there wasn't much she could do about it, she realized. She wasn't fast enough. The searing pain was only an afterthought as she sailed into the great beyond. She was failing. She hated to fail at anything. But was there anything she could do about it? It drove her mad. And her father hadn't allowed her to attempt super saiyan yet. Did that mean he knew she couldn't hack it? There are only two options to contemplate when facing immense adversity such as she was facing. One was to quit. Pan was beginning to lose grasp upon the other option.

--

The first few weeks, Pan had made great gains in power, Gohan noted. But now, she was plateauing. That couldn't do.

"Let's go." Gohan ordered.

"Okay." Pan replied.

Gohan noticed immediately that her confidence was shaken and it showed in her technique. She was sloppy, without initiative, and not in control. For the first time, Gohan wondered if Pan could make it in here. Something was wrong with her, and if she was going to make it, she would have to fix it.

--

"Papa? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Gohan lied. "You're doing very well."

"No I'm not, Papa."

At least she knew, Gohan thought as he tucked her in. Maybe with that, she could turn it around.

--

"Grandpa! Don't go Grandpa!"

"Yeah?"

"I want to be a great warrior! Just like you!"

"Hehe, you will!"

--

"Aaaaaah!" Pan gasped. "It was so real!" She shouted, still freaking about the dream, remembering the time early in her childhood that she promised her grandfather.

Now Pan knew. She would have to push herself far and beyond anything she knew she could do. She gazed over at her father who was still sleeping.

It started tonight, Pan decided. It started now.

--

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

It was loud enough to wake Gohan up. Maybe she had a bad dream. He looked over, however, to see Pan gone, and his mind started to race. Beyond home was nothing but total darkness. Pan had to be out there somewhere, but where?

"Kaa--mee--haa--mee--HAAAAAA!"

Aaah good. Her energy signature radiated steadily and powerful. Wait...no. It's fading! Gohan heard a blast, and it gave him a direction to work with. He flew full bore out into the darkness. He locked onto her energy signature and found her miles out, lying prone on the ground and trembling in pain. She was in shock, and she was not lucid.

"Pan!" Gohan shouted. He picked her up and rushed her back home. Her injuries were severe, but would they be life threatening? Maybe, just maybe. Without a Senzu bean, that was. Pan would need her rest, however.

--

By his estimation, they had been in there nearly two months. He wondered what Pan was thinking, wondering if she really was digging deep down to tap a power she couldn't fathom. For Vegeta, this was twenty-four hours that he couldn't sleep. The anticipation was too great. The next day, he would find out if there was another legendary warrior, or another part time saiyan, or human, Vegeta corrected himself.

--

Surviving life threatening injuries worked wonders for a saiyan once they healed, and the same was true of Pan, Gohan noted. He came at her with reckless abandon, with a punch that could definitely do some damage. Pan blocked it. Another punch. Pan countered with an elbow to her father's stomach, which knocked him for a loop. She fired a Kamehameha wave to continue the counter-assault, but Gohan deflected it back at her. Pan dodged, but she couldn't dodge Gohan's follow-up blow to the face. She was sent reeling, but not flying.

"Alright. That's all for today." Gohan said.

"That's it?"

"Yes, Pan. Now we rest."

"But I was just getting warmed up!" Pan moaned.

"Yes dear, but rest is necessary too. Now come, and we'll have supper and get ready for bed."

"But..."

"But even the best warriors need rest."

--

Pan looked at her sleeping father adjacent to her. She began having doubts again, not about herself, but about how well her father was training her. She got the impression that he didn't want to hurt her. That couldn't do. She realized her body had to be thoroughly torn down again to be built back up stronger than before. Yes, rest was important, but not before the day's work was done.

Her father didn't want her out there on her own. That couldn't do as well. So out into the great beyond she went again.

This time, the surface was flooded with about two feet of water. Great, Pan thought. Two feet of icy water could go along great with the gravity that seemed to tug her down unlike anything she experienced before in this place. It would be great resistance training.

It was rough, in fact painful to even be out there. Pan welcomed the pain. But the Room of Space and Time was not a place that wanted to be welcomed. Once Pan touched down, her feet became ensnared in a thick sheet of ice.

"What the?" Pan shouted. The ice became the least of her worries as the water began to rise, eventually rising above her head by a foot. A measly foot was all that separated her from oxygen, but the ice maintained it's horrifying grip, the one foot taunting her and making her panic. Unable to break free, Pan started losing oxygen, making every movement that much more painful. Pan began to realize that she could very well die out here by herself. Alone! A promise unfulfulled to my grandfather! I'm losing consciousness! I'm going to fail! IT'S TOO MUCH!!

--

The spike in power was unmistakeable. Pan was out there, again! All by herself! He told her not to go out there alone! It was too dangerous! Gohan ventured out again, thanking himself that at least this time he could see. He arrived to see her floating above the water, clearly soaked, and clearly tired. She was holding herself up, however, a pleasant sign.

"You ready to get back?" Gohan asked, deciding not to mention anything of the spike in power she experienced.

"Yeah." Pan breathed.


	3. Emergence

" Alright Pan. Become a super saiyan."

"What?"

"You nearly had it last night. You can do it."

"Um...alright?" Pan stammered. She then focused her mind, and powered up. Her power rose dramatically as she gathered her strength to make what she thought would be the final push. It never came. Pan came out of her stance bewildered.

"Just like I thought." Gohan commented.

"What?"

"You don't know how to do it."

"I kept powering up and everything, papa! I gave it all I had! I just don't have it in me!"

"Oh believe me, you do. You just need direction."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Now what happened last night when you were out there?"

"Well, Papa, it was scary! My feet got entangled in some ice and the water rose, and I nearly drowned! I came so close!"

"I see. What were you feeling?"

"Well, I was scared! Terrified! Enraged! I was scared I was letting everyone down! It made me mad! I thought I was about to die! Last thing I knew, I was losing consciousness, then the next thing I knew, I was above the water."

"Remember the rage." Gohan ordered. "That's the key. It's not powering up. It's letting yourself be so consumed with rage, with the pain of losing something dear to you. That's how you become a super saiyan."

"Really?"

"You don't power up, per se, to become a super saiyan. You have to experience the need for the power."

"I see, so it's something accessed when you need it, not necessarily when you want it."

"The first time, yes."

It was the last word she got out before being punched in the mouth. By this time she knew the drill. She deflected a blast back at her dad and sent him sailing. Gohan transformed into a super saiyan and used an old technique his father performed. He formed a Kamehameha wave attack and launched it directly against Pan. Pan was prepared for that, and took the blast head-on. The blast started burning her hands and she felt it driving her. The way it was aimed, it wasn't going to drive her backwards, but drive her into the ground. She struggled mightily, losing her ground, when her father took it one step further. He snuck in behind her and fired another Kamehameha at her back. Pan loosed one hand from the first blast and tried to stop the second wave. Both waves aimed in at one central point, her.

One wave was already too much, and the second one only made her situation exponentially more dire. Pan felt herself beginning to get crushed in between the waves, like a treasure hunter trying to stop two converging trap walls. She was losing the battle, and it would mean her life. She would fail at her promise to her grandfather, fail her father, and fail herself. That's what hurt the most. Pissed her off the most. Set herself into a deathly rage.

"She would have been dead by now if she hadn't managed something." Gohan noted pleasantly. He hated doing it, but the maneuver worked for him. He couldn't do it any more to her though.

Gohan could not see the first spasm, although its product enabled Pan to deflect the dual Kamehameha's away. Pan emerged tense, but not aglow. Gohan landed close to his daughter, who was still spasming in fits of rage when...there. Her head snapped back, and her hair fluttered, briefly starting to glow. She was still pushing. Not quite there, but close.

Somewhere buried deep beneath the rage, the pain, and the anger, Pan knew what it was going to take. And she was not going to let go. She could pull it off. She had to. Another spasm. Another flash of bright golden light.

Almost, Gohan noted, looking on proudly. It drew memories back to his father the first time he transformed facing Frieza, when Krillin was killed. At least the cost wasn't nearly as severe this time around.

Pan grunted and groaned, fueled not by her own power, but pure, unadultered rage. Back in her mind, she wondered if she was sane allowing such rage to blaze, but then another thought came to her mind. Her father tried to kill her! How could he attempt such a thing? To her? His own daughter? It made her boil!

And it was all she needed. Awash with a golden aura, her hair spiked, her bandana ripped off, and her hair glowed golden. She was mad as hell, and she was finally a super saiyan.


End file.
